Oil spill cannot be ignored
Out of sight, out of mind will not work in this situation. We are just starting to see the effects on wildlife stemming from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. What’s worse? What we aren’t seeing.
On Good Morning America, Phillipe Cousteau, grandson of oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, dove 25 feet below the water’s surface in the Gulf. His report was astonishing, calling the situation a nightmare. Cousteau said that the chemical dispersants aren’t working — only breaking the oil up into little droplets that animals can more easily absorb or eat. Devastating.
The stuff we are seeing isn’t too great, either. From today’s Washington Post:
“Now that the stuff is really sort of coming ashore, it really is living up to its potential. It’s certainly breached the sort of outer defense system of Louisiana,” said James H. Cowan Jr., a professor at Louisiana State University. “It’s the very worst-case scenario, for things like birds and mammals.”
The Post also reports that members of the Minerals Management Service had been accepting gifts from oil companies. How’s that for regulation and enforcement? Big Oil isn’t just stopping at the executive branch. The director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program, Tyson Slocum, was quoted in this NPR story about Big Oil’s lobbying efforts post-spill:
“Big Oil’s legislative agenda is still able to function, even after a devastating event like we’ve got going on in the Gulf of Mexico right now,” Slocum said.
Looks like We, the People will have to take this into our own hands. Forget Beyond Petroleum, let’s get Beyond BP. Join our boycott of the oil company. 1,000,000 to boycott BP. Sign the petition, join us on Facebook and tell your friends. (We’re featured in this NPR story about the boycott, too.)